Bradley Cooper Admits He Thought Sexiest Man Alive Title Was A Prank

November 9, 2012 03:25 PM EDT

Bradley Cooper has admitted he thought it was a prank when he was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in November 2011.

“I remember when I got the call, I was in the trailer, we were in between shots and I really did think it was a joke,” Bradley told “Nightline’s” Chris Connelly, referring to being on the set of his new film with Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook.” “I truly thought that it was a joke.

“I thought Dax Shepard did it,” Bradley continued. “I was certain that he did something like that. And, then they’re like, ‘No, nope, no. It’s real.’ And then I thought, ‘People aren’t going to like that.’ I really thought that. I thought, ‘This isn’t a good thing.’”

In fact, he was so nervous about the title that he tried to turn it down.

“I went, ‘Do I have to do it? I was like, ‘Can I say no?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, you could, but be thankful,’ and I thought, ‘Yeah, OK, OK,’” he added.

And Bradley was right to have reservations.

Last year, when he was crowned, there were protestors, who picketed outside of the magazine’s New York City offices for not choosing Ryan Gosling instead.

“It was brutal,” Bradley laughed. “There was a cheer they made!”

But plenty of people were happy about it, including the residents of his hometown.

“Everybody from my hometown and stuff, they loved it,” he said. “A guy like me, coming from Philly and like growing up – first of all, this is all so insane anyway and then to have that thing was just like, they loved it.”

“Silver Linings Playbook” will hit theaters on November 21, 2012.

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